Every year, my Christmas gift buying list consists of family members, friends, and my dog. I'm not saying that I dress him up in Paris Hilton-esque chihuahua tutus and booties, but he does have a Santa hat and reindeer antlers in his clothing stash to get him in the festive spirit. Pampering your pet has become a big business in recent years and some of the most stylish fashion leaders just so happen to be of a furry nature.

In a review of the top 10 fashion highlights of 2012 published on Tuesday by The Guardian Newspaper, fashion writer Lauren Cochrane relayed that the year had been dominated by pet fashion and notably influenced by designer Karl Lagerfeld’s pampered cat, Choupette, and reality TV star Kim Kardashian’s late cat, Mercy. But despite their strong pedigree backgrounds and celebrity ownership, these couture creatures were all trumped by Darwin, the rhesus macaque monkey who wandered into a Canadian branch of IKEA in a very smart shearling coat — where does one buy such a darling miniature coat anyway? — instantly stealing the crown for most fashionable pet.

Yep, The Guardian has named Darwin among 2012's biggest fashion highlights. And rightly so. He launched a slew of memes, GIFs, and "Who wore it best?" jokes after capturing the world’s attention when he escaped from his owner’s car (searching for Swedish meatballs and 99 cent ice cream no doubt) on that fateful day in December.

Ryan Gosling, you'll never win this one.

Now, currently living at a sanctuary — though his owners are calling for his return — Darwin no longer wears diapers and his dashing shearling, but his memory and fashion sensibility lives on as we splurge on our pets' ever-expanding closets this Christmas.

Emma Jones is a fashion and entertainment writer based in Toronto. She writes extensively for lifestyle and entertainment outlets, including MSN.ca, About.com Celebrity Style and MTV.com. Obsessed with British street style and vintage finds, when she's not writing (or wasting her Law degree, sorry parents!), Emma can be found scouring Kensington Market thrift stores for band shirts and original must-haves. Her style icons include Fearne Cotton, Alexa Chung, Debbie Harry, and Daria.